
Class. 
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57th Congress, 1 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. I Document 

2d Session. i i No. 465. 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES 



LIFE AND CHARACTER 



HARLES A, RUSSELL 



(Late a Represent \tive from ' m < tt in i 



hi 1 l\ ERED IN THE 



HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATE, 



FIFTY-SEVENTH C< INGRESS, 

Second Session. 



WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 
1903. 




.. 






TABLE OF CONTEXTS. 



Page. 

Proceedings in the House of Representatives 5 

Address of Mr. Brandegee, of Connecticut 10 

Address of Mr. Capron, of Rhode Island 16 

Address of Mr. Sperry, of Connecticut 19 

Address of Mr. Hill, of Connecticut 23 

Address of Mr. Henry, of Connecticut 26 

Address of Mr. Payne, of New York 28 

Address of Mr. McClellan, of New York 32 

Address of Mr. Dalzell, of Pennsylvania 34 

Address of Mr. Grosvenor, of Ohio 40 

Address of Mr. McCall, of Massachusetts 44 

Address of Mr. Stark, of Nebraska 45 

Address 1 if Mr. Babcock, of Wisconsin 49 

Proceedings in the Senate 51 

Address of Mr. Piatt, of Connecticut 55 

Address of Mr. Frye, of Maine 60 

Address of Mr. Lodge, of Massachusetts 63 

Address 1 if Mr. Jones, of Arkansas 66 

Address 1 if Mr. Kean, of New Jersey 6S 

Address of Mr. Burrows, of Michigan 7. . 

Address . if Mr. Aldrich, of Rhode Island 72 

3 



Death of Representative Russell. 



Proceedings in the House. 



December i, 1902. 
death of representative charles a. russell. 

Mr. BrandEGEE. Mr. Speaker, it becomes my sad duty to 
announce to the House the death of my predecessor, Hon. 
Charles Addison Russell, of Killingly, Conn. He died at 
his home on the 23d day of October, 1902. I do not at this 
time desire to enter upon any extended remarks upon that 
most unfortunate event. At some future time I shall ask the 
House to name a day when proper and customary tribute of 
respect to his memory may be paid. 

At this time, as supplementing what I have said, I offer 
the following resolutions, which [ will send to the desk and 
ask to have read: 

The Clerk read as follows: 

Resolved, That the House has heard with deep regret and profound 
sorrow of the death of Hon. Charles A. RrssELL, late a Represent. itive 
from the State of Connecticut. 

Resolved, That the Clerk of the House communicate these resolutions 
to the Senate and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the deceased. 

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect, the House do now adjourn. 

The Speaker. The question is on agreeing to the resolu- 
tions. 

5 



6 Life and Character of Charles A. Russell. 

The question was taken; and the resolutions were agreed to. 
Accordingly, in pursuance of the resolution, at 12 o'clock 
aud 50 minutes the House adjourned. 

December ii, 1902. 

eulogies ox the late representative charles a. 

KUSSELL. 

Mr. Bkaxdkgee. Mr. Speaker, I desire to ask the House to 
fix a time for memorial addresses upon the life, services, and 
character of the Hon. Charles A. Russell, deceased, late a 
member of this body. With this object in view I beg leave to 
offer the following resolution: 

The Clerk read as follows: 

Resolved, That the House meet on Sunday, the 25th day of January. 
1903, at 12 o'clock noon, for eulogies upon the life, character, and services 
of the Hon. CHARLES Addison Russell, deceased, late a member of this 
House. 

The resolution was agreed to. 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES. 

January 25, 1903. 

The House met at 12 o'clock noon, and was called to order 
by Mr. Grosvenor, as Speaker pro tempore. 

The Chaplain. Rev. Henry N. Couden, D. D., offered the 
following prayer: 

We come to Thee, Almighty God our Heavenly Father, with 
gratitude welling up in our hearts for all the disclosures Thou 
hast made of Thyself unto Thy children; and especially do we 
thank Thee for that personal revelation in the life and char- 
acter of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, through whom we are enabled 
to interpret to some extent the purpose for which we are called 
into existence. We thank Thee that we may look up to Thee 
and call Thee Father, realizing that in that name the whole 
world is akin. 

We thank Thee that Thou hast bound us together, through 
the teuderest and sweetest ties, into families; that Thou hast 
bound us together by the ties of friendship, which continually 
enlarge the circle of fraternity, so that though we come here 
from widely different sections of our great country, imbued 
with different political views and religious sentiment, we may 
lav these all aside on such occasions and see only that which 
was noble and true and pure and just in those who wrought 
upon this floor. 

We thank Thee for that something in us which tell-, us we 
shall never die, for that something which tells us that truth 
shall outlive the stars; for that something which tells us that 
love shall finally be satisfied. 



8 Life and Character of Charles A. Russell. 

Let Thy blessings descend. Heavenly Father, upon the 

families of those who are in mourning and sorrow over their 

ones. Comfort them, we beseech Thee, by the blessed 

assurance that by and by they shall meet in another world. 

where there shall be no more separation. 

Help us so to order our lives that we may live each day 
to prepare ns for the next, so that when we shall finish our 
course in this world we shall be prepared to enter upon the 
larger, grander life in a fairer world. 

Hear us in the name of Jesus Christ, our L,ord. Amen. 

The Journal of the proceedings of yesterday was read and 
approved. 

ORDER OF PROCEDURE. 

The Speaker pro tempore. The House of Representatives is 

in session pursuant to three special orders of the House, which 
the Clerk will report. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

On motion of Mr. Br \.\i 'i.ci-a-:, by unanimous consent, it was 
Resolved, That the House meet on Sunday, the 25th day of January, 
1903, at 12 o'clock noon, for eulogies upon the life, character, and services 
of the Hon. Charles Addison Rrssi-u.i., deceased, late a member of this 
II« 'Us, . i >rder made in the House Thursday, December 11 , 1902. 
( in motion of Mr. Hah, of Texas, it was 

ived, 'I'll. it tin- House meet on Sunday, the 25th day of January, 
A. I). [903, at 12 o'clock in is m. for eulogies upon the life, character, and 
services of the Hon. John I.. SHEPPARD and Hon. ki.i.si C. I » 1 Graf- 
FENREID, deceased, late members of this House from the State of Texas. — 
Order made in the House Thursday, December 11, 1902. 

Mr. Brandegee. -Mr. Speaker, I offer the resolution which 
I send to the Clerk's desk. 

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Connecticut 
offers a resolution which the Clerk will report. 

The Clerk read as follows: 

Resolved, That in pursuance of the sin-ci.il order heretofore adopted, 
the House proceed to pay tribute to tin- memory of Hon. CHARLES A. 



Memorial Addresses. g 

Russeix, late a member of the House of Representatives from the State 
of Connecticut. 

Resolved, That as a particular mark of respect to the memory of tin- 
deceased, and in recognition of his eminent abilities as a faithful and dis- 
tinguished public servant, the House, at the conclusion of the memorial 
proceedings of this day, shall stand adjourned. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate. 

Resolved, That the Clerk be, and is hereby, instructed to send a copy of 
these resolutions to the family of the deceased. 



io Life and Character of Charles A. Russell. 



Address of Mr. Brandegee, of Connecticut. 

Mr. Speaker: As the successor of Mr. RUSSELL, and in 
accordance with the time-honored custom of this House, it 
becomes my melancholy privilege to speak briefly in commem- 
oration of his life and character. 

CHARLES ADDISON RUSSELL, was born at Worcester, Mass.. 
on March 2, 1S52. His parents were Isaiah Dunster Russell 
and Nancy Maria Wentworth. Through his father he was a 
descendant of Henry Dunster. the first president of Harvard 
College, and on his mother's side he was descended from Ben- 
jamin Wentworth. one of the earlier governors of New Hamp- 
shire. His great-grandfather, Jason Russell, a patriot of the 
Revolution, was killed at the battle of Lexington. 

Mr. Russell attended the public schools of his native town. 
those humble New England universities which have shaped 
the minds and characters of so many illustrious public men, 
and was prepared for college by the Rev. Harris R. Greene. 
In 1869 he entered Yale College. He was an apt and dili- 
gent student and was popular both with the faculty and with 
the undergraduates. He graduated with honors in 1873. 
He immediately entered journalism; was city editor of the 
Worcester Press for five years, and was also connected with 
the Worcester Spy. and corresponded with several of the 
large New York and Boston newspapers. 

On May 14. 1879, he was married to Ella Frances Sayles : 
the daughter of Sabin L. Sayles, of Dayville, in the town of 
Killingly, Conn., one of the most distinguished citizens of that 
State, and in that year moved to Killingly and thenceforth 
resided there. He soon became treasurer of the Sayles 



Address of Mr. Bra?idegee t of Connecticut. 11 

Woolen Company, an official of other corporations and insti- 
tutions, and a member of various benevolent and fraternal 
organizations. 

In 1SS1 he was appointed by Governor Hobart B. Bigelow 
an aid-de-camp upon his military staff, with the rank ol 
colonel. In 1883 he was elected a representative in the gen- 
eral assembly, and served with ability both on the floor and 
as chairman of the important committee on cities and bor- 
oughs. In 1885 he was elected secretary of the State. In 
1886 he was elected Representative in the Fiftieth Congress 
from the Third Connecticut district. He was unanimously 
nominated and elected by steadily increasing majorities to each 
succeeding Congress, including the present one. He died at 
his home in Killingly on Thursday, the 23d day of October, 
1902, at about 10 o'clock in the forenoon, surrounded by his 
family and friends. His aged mother, a sister, his widow, and 
two children — Sabin Savles Russell and Deborah Russell — 
survive him. 

Mr. RussELT- entered upon his first term in this body with 
more than the ordinary experience, both in business and poli- 
tics, and with more than the usual qualifications for the respon- 
sible position. These attainments, in connection with his 
winning personality, his cheerful disposition, his indomitable 
perseverance, and his innate kindness of heart, soon engaged 
the attention of the House and foreshadowed his distinguished 
subsequent career. During his sixteen years of consecutive 
service in this body — a period of membership longer than that 
of any of his predecessors or of any New England Representa- 
tive now here — he had served upon the Committees on Educa- 
tion, Railroads and Canals, Banking and Currency, Reform in the 
Civil Service, Census, Expenditures in the War Department, 
as chairman, and the leading Committee on Ways and Means. 



12 Life and Character of Charles A. Russell. 

It was upon this last committee that his must signal services 
were rendered to his country and his constituents. Here his 
business training, his intimate acquaintance with the details of 
the manufacture of textile fabrics, his broad and exact knowl- 
edge of general commercial conditions, his experience upon 
other committees, and his knowledge of the duties of the vari- 
ous governmental departments and their needs, soon gave him 
conspicuous rank and designated him as the trusted counselor 
and friend of Nelson Dingley and William McKinley. His 
fidelity to duty, his unflagging industry, his uniform courtesy, 
his modest bearing, and his distinguished services in this House 
are still fresh in the memory of all and will be recounted by his 
colleagues who will soon pay loving tribute to his memory. 

Standing in the shadow of our great sorrow, which hangs 
like a pall over the hearts and homes of the men and women of 
his historic district and fills this Chamber with sadness, what 
shall I, what can I say of him — the honored, the loved one, the 
friend of the old soldier, the friend of the laboring man, every- 
body's friend — who has been summoned from the councils of 
the lawmakers of earth into the majestic presence of the 
Almighty Lawgiver? He was a Representative in the highest 
and best sense of that term. Honest, industrious, capable, 
unassuming, and conscientious, he devoted his whole time, 
mind, and strength to the service of the State and the interests 
of an intelligent and prosperous constituency. "Seest thou 
a man diligent in his business, that man shall stand before 
princes; he shall not stand before mean men." 

And so he stood, for sixteen years, like a knight of chivalry, 
untouched by the tongue of calumny, in the highest parlia- 
mentary assembly in the world, the trusted comrade, associate, 
and friend of legislators, orators, and statesmen. He made no 
claim to oratory — that indefinable gift of speech which stirs 



Address of Mr. Brandegee, of Connecticut. 13 

men's souls, but by which oftentimes the worse is made to 
seem the better cause — but he was endowed instead, and in a 
large measure, with what has not inaptly been called "the 
genius of common sense." 

He discriminated, as it were, with an unerring instinct 
between the false and the true. He saw and knew men and 
measures in their proper relations and proportions, and esti- 
mated them at their real rather than their pretended value. 
This gift showed him when and how to apply to the evils 
of the body politic appropriate remedial legislation. He was a 
clear thinker and a plain talker. He illuminated his subject 
because he saw it clearly himself. To him language was not 
simply a combination of words or of* articulated sounds. It 
was a system of expressing ideas. He was not given to much 
speaking, but whenever he desired to express his views he did 
so with that purity of diction and in that simplicity of manner 
which, if not eloquence itself, is close kin to it. He abhorred 
the babblings and mouthings of the word monger; he despised 
the tricks and fripperies of the mere rhetorican, and he hated 
the turbulence and clamor of the demagogue and the agitator. 
He had an aversion to all sensationalism and display. He was 
utterly devoid of all guile, hypocrisy, and cant. He was free 
from the slightest affectation. It was this antipathy to artifice 
which led him to reject all literary and rhetorical adornment 
and to rely for his effect entirely upon the logic of his thought 
and the lucidity of his statement. 

His disposition was genial and kindly. His manner was 
cordial without being demonstrative. He was dignified, but 
not distant; reserved, but not reticent; unassuming, but not 
diffident. He was absolutely and wholly honest, frank, and 
candid in thought, word, and deed. There is some mysterious 
intuition in nature which defies analysis, but which infallibly 



14 Life and Character of Charles A. Russell. 

marks an honest man. Whatever this influence may be it 
actually radiated from Mr. Russell. Xo one could be in his 
presence without a consciousness of his impregnable integrity. 
His heart beat with kindness, sweetness, and charity, and his 
whole appearar.ee. bearing, and voice were attuned to these. 
He inspired confidence and affection at first sight. His everj^ 
instinct, feeling, and aspiration was clean, wholesome, and 
noble. His character was well rounded and his intellect sym- 
metrically developed. By long and faithful service he had 
become one of the most trusted and honored members of this 
body. He was familiar with its traditions, observant of its 
rules, courteous to its members, attentive to its business, and 
proud of its historic repute as the freest and most famous 
popular legislative assembly of all time. 

He represented a constituency composed of many elements. 
Sturdy farmers, toilers in mills, artisans in factories, busy mer- 
chants, and captains of industry, men who go down to the sea 
in ships — all the diversified interests and individuals of an 
agricultural, manufacturing, and maritime district were repre- 
sented and protected by him. And he represented the political 
principles and policies of a State which had furnished Roger 
Sherman to the Constitution, Israel Putnam to the Continental 
army, Jonathan Trumbull to the Revolution, William A. Buck- 
ingham to the preservation of the Union, and Morrison R. 
Waite to the Supreme Court of the United States. 

He had a lofty conception of the dignity and duty of the 
office of a member of Congress. In his view it was neither an 
agency tor the distribution of documents and the spoils of 
political conquest nor a stage for the exhibition of talent, nor 
a theater for the display of ambition, nor a market for the 
barter of influence and votes, but rather a sacred ministration 
tur which he was ordained by a great constituency to voice its 



Address of Mr. Brandegee, of Connecticut. 15 

principles and wishes in the supreme council of the greatest 
nation of recorded time. Though he was one of the most dis- 
tinguished members of this body, he was free from all vanity, 
self-assertion, and pretense — that trinity of the smaller vices 
which while they counterfeit greatness detract from it. 

At home, in his private life, among the people he loved and 
who loved him, his daily walk was as a daily benediction. He 
was their guide, their counselor, and their friend. He joined 
in their pursuits, he shared their sports, he contributed to their 
needs, he sympathized with their sorrows, he rejoiced in their 
successes, and by his devotion to their interests he sacrificed 
his life. Among the many opportunities and temptations of 
long public service, where thrift might easily have followed 
fawning, he kept his character, his record, and his reputation 
spotless and free from even the slightest shadow of suspicion. 
At last, after a longer period than is ordinarily allotted to 
public life, without a spot on his record, honored and loved by 
everybody, " having provided things honest in the sight of all 
men," having fought a good fight, having kept the faith, 
there came the inexorable roll call, and it found him ready. 
"He wrapped the drapery of his couch about him and laid 
down to pleasant dreams." 

Rated by the commercial standard, he died a poor man, but 
when the very name of the money king shall have passed into 
oblivion, the memory, the life, the character, and the services 
of Charles Addison Russell will still remain an example 
and an inspiration to posterity and a conspicuous honor to his 
State. 



i6 Life and Character of Charles A, Russell. 



ADDRESS OF MR. CAPRON, OF RHODE ISLAND. 

Mr. Speaker: The poet Whittier had in mind the type of 
man to which our loved friend and colleague, the late Charles 
Addison Russell, of Connecticut, belonged, when he wrote — 

Formed on the good old plan — 

A true, a brave, a downright holiest man. 

He blew no trumpet in the market-place. 

Nor in the church, with hypocritic face, 

Supplied with cant the lack of Christian grace. 

Loathing pretense, he did with cheerful will 

What other-, talked of while their hand-, were still. 

As often as I have attempted to prepare such words as 
would serve to express my thoughts upon the life and char- 
acter of Charles A. Russell, I have found the written 
sentences ringing formal, perfunctory, and hollow, so will 
content myself with simply recording the sentiments which my 
heart in its love for him prompts. It was to the heart that my 
friendship for Mr. Russell appealed first ami strongest. In 
every hour of my Congressional life as it touched his I knew 
him best as one. first of all, who loved his fellow-men. 

Others will tell of his public life and labors, of his strength 
of character, of his fearless courage in the cause of right, of 
his high and unfailing sense of honor, of his devotion to plain 
duty to the limit of martyrdom, and of his genius for hard 
work and the success which crowned his efforts. 

Of the lovely and loving heart which never failed those who 
were allowed within its citadel it is mine to recall. He sought 
me out upon my arrival at the Capitol, prompted, perhaps, 
first, because his district joined mine, and the interest- of 
business and friendship do not halt at the imaginary line 



Address of Mr. Capron, of Rhode Island. 17 

which divides the States of Connecticut and Rhode Island. 
Kindly counsel as to the great economic problems then being 
settled he gave me, and as one of the leading spirits engaged 
in the formulation of the schedules of the Dingley tariff, he 
took pains to daily advise and instruct me. So inspiring was 
his smile, so cheering his voice, that the day when I did not 
sit and talk with him had something wanting which could not 
be gained elsewhere. As with myself, so I found at length it 
was with other men. They trusted Chari.es A. Russell 
with a rare confidence that his judgment was unerring and his 
instincts sure. 

In all the years when health was his he was never pessimistic 
or cynical. His faith in men was dominant. His creed was 
that men average honest, though recognizing human limita- 
tions and weaknesses. 

The love of country burned ever an altar fire in his soul. A 
purer, truer patriot never breathed. 

A quiet joy at the success of the policies he had helped to 
enact, resulting in the prosperity of the workers of the land, 
abided with him always like an atmosphere. 

It was my good fortune to go with him through his district 
during the last campaign he made, and I shall never forget 
the expression of absolute trustful satisfaction everywhere 
expressed by the people we met. His genial, manly, and 
quiet, though forceful, addresses were universally satisfying. 
The heartv hand grasp which whole communities came to 
bestow, and the words of approval of his course in public life 
had nowhere one discordant note. So long had he known this 
people, and so well, it almost seemed that he kept in touch 
with the home life of each family. 

It was with satisfaction that I attended the convention which 
last nominated Mr. Russell with enthusiastic acclamation. 
H. Doc. 465 2 



t8 Life and Character of Charles A. Russell. 

Although it was universally known that there was not an 
opposing vote in his party, there was a full attendance of the 
delegations, and the grief at the report that he was too ill to 
attend the convention was profound. A resolution asking the 
candidate to attend to the recovery of his health and assuring 
him that the delegate-, to the convention would attend to every 
other needful thing to assure his triumphant reelection was 
enthusiastically voted. 

A few days later he went to his reward, and the whole 
community in which he had lived ami labored came, men and 
women and children, from the mills and farms and shops, 
1m .well with a grief such as it is not often the lot of men 
In inspire. 

But beyond and above all the qualities which so endeared 
this man to his town, his State, and the nation, the love which 
his great heart held for his home and his own was that 
which most deeply appealed to those who knew him best. As 
husband, as father, as home maker shall I recall him to my 
last day. To have known Charles A. Russell in this 
relation was a benediction to any man's life. 

God grant that we may not miss the lesson his life and 
death teaches. 



Address <>/ Mr. Spiny, of Connecticut. ig 



ADDRESS OF MR. SPERRY, OF CONNECTICUT. 

Mr. Speaker: This day has been set apart for the memorial 
services to the Hon. Charles Addison Russele, late a 
member of this House from Connecticut. Having known 
and loved him for many years, both in and out of Congress, 
I can not refrain from adding a few words of tribute to his 
memory in addition to those already spoken. 

It is with a sad heart that I speak of one who was called 
away from us in the full vigor of his manhood, when his 
usefulness to his .State and his district, which he served so 
faithfully for many years, was at its height. His record and 
career are those of a man ever just, ever lovable, ever upright 
in all his dealings with his fellow-men. 

I first knew of Mr. RuSSEEE as a student at Yale. Here 
he endeared himself to his fellow-students, just as he did 
later to those he came in contact with in the sterner walks of 
a busy life. He was ever known affectionately as "Charlie," 
a name that clung to him from his college days to the end, 
though honors and dignities were thrust upon him. His 
geniality and his lack of formality were responsible for this, 
and it was a name he loved to hear from the lips of his 
friends. 

Mr. RrssELL. as a member of Congress, was alert and con- 
sistent in all the duties required of him. He was ever ready 
to help a needy constituent, and it was not strange that he- 
was beloved and honored by all to an extent that falls to the 
lot of few men. He was a large-hearted man, broad in his 
sympathies, full of love and tenderness for all in want or 
distress, a companion unexcelled, a man true and steadfast 



20 Life and Character of Charles A. Rtissell. 

in his friendships. I do not believe he ever wronged a single 
person or swerved from the path of a noble life. 

His family ties were exceptionally strong. His love and 
devotion to his wife and children were apparent to all. His 
solicitude for their welfare was ever uppermost in his mind. 
He loved children. To the very last he took a deep interest 
in their sports and their -anies. their little troubles and their 
pleasures. Many a time this whole-souled man. the best part 
of whose life was spent as a legislator of national reputation, 
would stop and watch the children of the village school at his 
home playing in the school yard. He was always a welcome 
visitor. They looked upon him as a friend and comrade — 
one who did not hesitate to join in their sports, and who could 
be a boy with them — though cares and responsibilities weighed 
upon him. His sunny nature shed a luster wherever he went, 
and no company where he happened to be could be dull. 

His was a life that we who survive him would do well to 
remember and honor. The last year he was among us he was 
struggling bravely with an insidious disease which would 
sooner or later end his mortal career. Vet not a murmur 
escaped his lips. He was hopeful to the end. If he had at 
times doubts as to his recover} 7 they were not made known to 
his family .or his friends. He was always looking on the 
bright side of life, and it was his aim to shed happiness and 
sunshine wherever he went. Gloom and despondency were 
not a part of his nature. 

The people of his district loved him. Most of his life was 
spent among them, and in his younger days he was always 
prominent in all their festive gatherings. He loved to mingle 
with them, to greet them with a hearty grasp of the hand, 
ami in return to receive their love and friendship. They 
learned to know his ability and his worth. They appreciated 



Address of Mr. Sperry, of Comiecticut. 21 

the faithfulness and devotion with which he served them. 
His memory will ever be green in the hearts of the people he 
represented so long, so devotedly, and so ably. When the 
sad news of his death spread throughout his district, sorrow 
and mourning could be seen on every hand — the genuine grief 
of friends and neighbors who loved him as a man and 
respected him as a true and honest politician. 

.Mr. RUSSELL had strong political opinions. He was firm 
and inflexible in his adherence to them, both by his vote and 
his speech. Yet so kind and gentle was he in his acts and 
dealings, so just and considerate of all who entertained 
opinions in opposition to his, that he has taught us how a 
member of this House can be a true and loyal party man and 
still maintain the friendship and respect of all he comes in 
daily contact with. 

He died as he had lived — beloved and respected by all who 
were so fortunate as to be able to claim an acquaintanceship 
witli him. To the end he was cheerful, ready to take up his 
life work, and solicitous for the welfare of those around him. 
It was the bravery of a noble heart facing death's problem, not 
shrinkingly, but courageously, with faith in the benevolence 
and justice of his God and Maker. 

It is only a few weeks ago that his earthly remains were 
committed to their last resting place. The little village of 
Dayville in which he lived was crowded with mourning friends 
from all parts of the State. A delegation composed of mem- 
bers of the Senate and the House was there. The people of his 
home village, and for many miles around, did homage to their 
departed friend. The little children of the village school lined 
the sidewalks, and not an eye was dry. It was a touching 
tribute of devotion to the memory of a man they were proud to 
call their friend. Fragrant flowers, the gifts of sorrowing 



22 Life and Charade) of Charles .1. Russell. 

friends, filled the house, shedding their sweet perfume. Here. 
too, the great esteem in which he was held by his neighbors 
and townspeople -bowed itself. A wreath of roses sent by the 
>! children, who gladly contributed their pennies to honor 
the memory of their lost friend, was a touching token of their 
affection. 

With his devoted wife and children around his lifeless form. 
his earthly bodj was laid away, to await the summon- of Him 
who said: "I am the resurrection and the life. He that 
believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." 



Address of Mr. Hill of Connecticut. 23 



Address of Mr. Hill, of Connecticut. 

Mr. Speaker: On the 23d of October last, Charles Addison 
Russell, in the fiftieth year of a useful and busy life, died in 
his <>\\n home surrounded by his family and friends. 

A few days later he was buried in the village where he had 
lived and among the associates whom he had loved. 

It was not a funeral in the sense that it was only the laying 
away of a body from which life had gone, but it was the sad 
parting of friend from friend and a tribute of respect to his 
character and memory from the whole State which he had 
served so long and well. 

The flowers which covered the casket and filled the chancel 
of the church in rare profusion were beautiful, but the tears 
which flowed unbidden from every eye were the real expression 
of the regard of those who had come not to pay formal respect 
to an honored citizen, but to bid a sad good-by to one they 
loved. 

It was a wonderful demonstration of what a place a man can 
make for himself in the hearts of his fellow-men by a life of 
usefulness to others rather than of selfish devotion to one's 
own interests. 

And this, I think, was the secret of his success, for success 
he had, and in a marked degree. 

It is not success to secure a fortune and nothing else in life. 
That grave is empty which holds a corpse and does not make 
to some one a sacred spot where it lies buried. 

A statement of dollars left behind is the poorest epitaph of 
which I know to put upon a tombstone. 

One kind word spoken here, one good deed done to a fellow- 
man, would outweigh them all in the life eternal. 



24 Life and Character of Charles A. Russell. 

In the whole histor) of Connecticut hut one man has ren- 
dered longer service in the House of Representatives. That 
man was John Davenport, who was a member of nine Con- 
gresses, dating from [799 to [817. Mr. Russell served eight 
terms, and at his death had been renominated for the ninth. 

J. O. Mosely, from the Second district, and Benjamin Tall- 
madge, from the Fourth, had eight term-, each, but no man 
from the Third district, which Mr. RuSSELL represented, had 
ever equaled him in length of service. And, indeed, for more 
than a century the average length of service from that district 
had been but a little over two terms each. 

But in 18S7 Charges A. Russell, then a comparatively 
young man, began to represent the sturdy farmers of the Third 
district, the rock-ribbed home of Republican faith in Connecti- 
cut, and from that time on, down to his dying hour, held the 
confidence, respect, and love of all his people. 

Visiting Xew London one day last summer, I met one of his 
warm personal and political friends. He told me that he had 
just received a letter from Mr. Russell, who was up on the 
coast "I Maine. In that letter he asked the question, " Do you 
think my people will reelect a man to Congress who is as sick 
as I am " and the answer went immediately back. "You need 
have no anxiety whatever about a renomination or election." 

He had absolutely devoted himself to their service. He had 
been faithful in little things as well as large ones. Nothing 
was allowed to stand between him and them. His only thought 
was for their welfare. Xo sacrifice of health or strength or 
time was too great for him to make in their behalf, and he did 
it all so pleasantly and in such a kindly way that each task 
seemed a privilege rather than a burden put upon him. 

This was the way he won their confidence, and they gave 
back to him devotion for devotion and love for love. 



Address of Mr. Hill, of Connecticut. 25 

Almost his last words were to advise concerning his 
successor and ask for him a like support. 

As a legislator his work was always well done. He was not 
a brilliant orator in the sense that he charmed an audience by 
flashes of wit and studied phrases and practiced posings, but 
he spoke fluently and straight at his subject, with the one- 
purpose of convincing men and securing adherents to his 
cause. 

He was not a genius, as the word is generally used to 
describe one who originates great policies or leads new move- 
ments on radical lines, but he did possess an analytical mind 
and power of judgment which drew men back from swift 
conclusions and held them beside himself on the solid ground 
of established and proven facts. 

If he had been a soldier his place would not have been on 
the skirmish line, but in command of the reserve to safely 
In ild every position gained and strengthen it as a base for 
further operations. 

He was a man upon whom his party and his colleagues 
could rely and in whose matured judgment they could 
unfalteringly trust. 

His life will be an inspiration, his work a far-reaching 
benefit, and his death a lasting sorrow to the people of 
Connecticut. 



26 Life and Character of Charles A. 'Russell, 



ADDRESS OF MR. H :ticut. 

Mr. Speaker: I first met Charles A. Russell twenty 
years ago, when we both commenced political life as members 
of the Connecticut general assembly of [883. ' Mr. RUSSELL 
was then a young man in the early thirties, tine looking, with 
an unusually attractive personality. Although comparatively 
a stranger in his adopted State, yet his happy, cheerful ways, 
genial manners, good-fellowship, and intelligent comprehen- 
sion of his public duties won him immediate confidence and 
prompt promotion, with merited popularity that never waned, 
but constantly increased during the passing years. 

Mr. RUSSELL was in the public service continuously for 
nearly twent}- years. Faithful to every trust, winning golden 
opinions from all with whom he came in contact, he occupied 
an assured place in the hearts of his constituents, as well as 
in the estimation of the people of the entire State, irrespective 
of party lines. 

It is not too much to say that no public man of his genera- 
tion was more highly esteemed and respected than our lamented 
friend, and I but restate a generally conceded fact when I say 
that had Mr. RUSSELL'S life been prolonged the highest politi- 
cal honors a State can confer awaited his acceptance. 

In this place and presence I need only refer to Mr. Rrs- 
SELL's distinguished services in this august bod} - . . Other 
friends and fellow-members now present will bear witness of 
his fifteen years of faithful Congressional work. 

Clear in intellect and of sound judgment, always candid and 
truthful, life brought to Mr. RUSSELL a full share of duties, 
toils, and responsibilities. These were invariably manfully and 
wisely met and overcome. Burdens were assumed and carried 
without a thought of trifling or evasion. Modest, kindly, 



Address of Mr. Henry of Connecticut. 27 

dignified, courageous, every public and private obligation was 
at all times conscientiously discharged. 

Mr. RUSSELL was a dutiful son and a kind brother; in his 
home, beside the family hearth, he appeared at his best; in him 
wife and children found an affectionate and devoted husband, 
a fond and indulgent father, whose loving solicitude wa- ever 
faithful and alert. As a friend, Mr. RUSSELL was loyal and 
true, sympathetic and helpful, an altogether safe counselor 
and wise advisor. 

Mr. RUSSELL was long favored with robust health and when 
stricken by a fatal disease, with death's gloomy shadows gath- 
ering around him. he with undaunted courage bravely main- 
tained his usual buoyant spirits. Indeed, he slightly resented 
the sometimes too solicitous intimations of his friends that he 
was not in normal health. • His cheerful, hopeful disposition 
was never more in evidence than during his prolonged struggle 
with the grim destroyer, continued unrelentingly through 
many suffering, anxious months. During all those weary days 
and nights the battle for life was fearlessly fought, until the 
closing act brought a happy release to his worn, sweet spirit. 

The grave has seldom received the mortal remains of a 
nobler, worthier man than the one his friends were wont to 
lovingly call "Charlie Russell." 

With but a scant proportion of worldly goods, Mr. RusSELL 
leaves his children the far more precious heritage of an hon- 
ored, untarnished name, and the blessed memory of a useful, 
well-spent life. 

At all times a gracious gentleman, the great poet's eulogistic 
lines are tersely descriptive of our departed friend: 

His years but young, but his experience old; 
His head unmellow'd, but his judgment ripe; 
Ami, in a word 1 lor far behind his worth 
Come all the praises that I now bestow . 
He was complete in feature and in mind. 
With all good t;race to grace a gentleman. 



Life and Charade)- of Charles A. Russell. 



Address of Mr :, of New York. 

Mr. Speaker: As we pause for a brief time to pay a parting 
tribute to one who was so recently among us an active, living 
force and is now silent in death, it is fitting that we turn from 
the turmoil of life and seek this quiet, peaceful day of rest in 
performance of this duty. It is t<> be hoped that the precedent 
so recently established will be followed hereafter, and that no 
other day than the Christian Sabbath will be chosen by the 
House for a public memorial to any of our members who have 
been removed by the hand of death. 

There is no forum in the world in which a man's character is 
so truthfully appreciated as in the House of Representatives. 
The daily assembling where mind meets mind, often in sharp 
debate, or in earnest, honest criticism, brings out all that there 
is in a man, good or bad. Hence it is tint the average impres- 
sion of the House' is an honest judgment of every member. 
Partisans are fair here in weighing the character of their oppo- 
nents: and after party strifes are over for the time, evenhanded 
justice is meted out by political opponents. These are some of 
the bright flowers that hang over the walls that divide parties; 
they are the pleasant tokens that lend cheer and pleasure to 
Congressional life. 

Not that the House is always a garden of flowers. Each 
man. if he has real worth, is stirred in defense of his own opin- 
ions, and often there is fierce conflict and real warfare. We 
witness here the survival of the fittest, and the judgment of the 
House is fairly made up on the merits. 

Charles Addison Russell entered the House with the 
Fiftieth Congress, and had served here for nearlv sixteen 



Address of Mr. Panic, of New York. 29 

years at the time of his death. On the floor of the House he 
was an admirable legislator, never speaking without having 
something to say that illuminated the subject under discussion 
and enlightened the House. He always commanded attention 
and respect. Whenever he arose to address the House his 
colleagues had reason to expect a plain, unvarnished, straight- 
forward statement, not wearisome by repetition nor shrouded 
with needless words calculated to conceal thought or the ab- 
sence of it, as is sometimes the case. After listening to a clear 
and lucid presentation, the wish came to us that he would 
the more frequently address the House. Kind, genial, and gen- 
tlemanly, with the courage of clear conviction, he was 
accustomed to impress his thoughts upon others with great 
success. 

But his real strength of character displayed itself in commit- 
tee work. It was my privilege to be associated with him in 
the Committee on Ways and Means for nearly eight years. 
Our relations were intimate and cordial. Seldom did a ques- 
tion arise upon which I did not find that he had bestowed 
much thought and generally had a definite, clear-cut opinion. 
While he believed in his conclusions, he was ready to listen to 
the view- 1 if his associates. If they presented to him a better 
reason, he had no such pride of opinion as to prevent his 
acknowledgment of a mistake. 

In no place is a man's mental caliber more thoroughly tried 
than in such committee work, for example, as the preparation 
of a general tariff bill. Mr. Russkli. was one of the eleven 
men who prepared the so-called " Dingley bill " in 1S97. He 
contributed his full share to the formation of that measure. 
For more than the half year that this act was in contemplation 
in either House of Congress, he was a constant attendant at all 
the meetings of the committee and an inveterate student of 



30 Life and Character of Charles A. Russell. 

all the conditions surrounding the work. The business of his 
life rendered him an expert on all matters relating to the 
textile schedules. But he was built on a still broader plan — 
his college training, his wide reading upon economic subjects, 
his thorough study, and his never-failing conservatism and 
good sense rendered his advice invaluable to the labors of that 
imittee. The chairman of the committee and each asso- 
ciate leaned upon him for advice. As one of his colleagues 
upon the committee, I cheerfully acknowledge the aid 1 
rendered me at all times during our long and intimate 
association. 

It is fitting that we who survive him should stop for a brief 
moment and place wreaths of affection upon the grave of 
Charles Addison Russell. We mourn his untimely end. 
Having just passed the age of 50 years, he was at the full 
zenith of his power and gave promise of many years of c,reat 
service to his State and to his country. He was popular 
anion-' his own people. In a recent campaign it was my good 
fortune to spend a little time in his district and State. He was 
the idol of his constituents, and his name and character were 
honored throughout the State. His friends looked for higher 
honors for him, believing that his character and usefulness 
had hardly begun in its strenuous growth. 

His failing health was noted by his associates early in the 
last session with much concern. How bravely he combated the 
encroaching disease: how faithfully he bore up in order to 
fulfill his duties here, those who were closest to him can testify. 
Never a murmur of complaint, making light of his ills, he 
proved himself the same brave character his life illustrated so 
fully. He died in the midst of his labors and surrounded by' 
the tokens of success. 

We bring flowers to his grave to-day. How many of us 



Address of Mr. Payne, of New York. 3 i 

contributed a single flower along his pathway in life, wearied 
as lie often was with the exacting labors of his position? We 
are accustomed to observe the old Latin maxim and speak 
nothing but -nod of the dead. It is well; yet I think we too 
often speak good of the dead only. We come far short of our 
duty to our brothers, except we sp<_-ak good of and to the 
living. More here than elsewhere, however, have I heard men 
titter words of cheer and good will, with just praise to their 
fellows. How much better than to wait until their ears are 
stopped in death. 

Our friend has departed to the unknown. We miss his 
genial presence, his kindly greeting. We miss him in com- 
mittee, where his influence was wont to smooth out difficulties 
and dissensions; we miss him in the House, where he was 
often instructing us and influencing our final judgment: we 
miss him in the social life, which renders our occupation here 
tolerable; he is missed in the home circle, that seemed so 
attractive to an on-looker. His State and his country will 
miss the service of one of the best of their sons. And yet we 
can but think that he has gone to something better; that there 
is a life beyond, rendered brighter by faithful service and good 
works here. We can but hope that our loss is his gain. 



32 Life and Charade} of Charles A. Russell. 



ADDRESS OF MR. McCLELLAN, OF NEW YORK. • 

Mi. Speaker: I knew Charles A. Russell intimately. 
We were fellow-members of the House for seven years, during 
five of which we were colleagues on the Committee on Ways 
and Means and on a subcommittee, and during four of which 
we had a permanent pair. Beiiii; so closely associated in the 
business of the House, scarcely a day went by when the House 
was in session that we were not more or less together. I never 
knew him to have had an ungenerous impulse or a mean 
thought. I never knew him to do an act unworthy of a manly 
man. He was a Republican. I a Democrat; but such was the 
breadth of his nature that he was never limited by party in his 
friendships nor in his relations with his fellow-members. 

RUSSELL is dead, and these eulogies of ours can not bring 
him back to us; yet there is some satisfaction in being able to 
tell each other of the affection, the esteem, and the honor in 
which we hold his memory. 

The loss of an able and honest man seems to us a misfortune, 
even when it is evident that his race is run and his task com- 
plete. But it is to our limited comprehension almost calami- 
tous when he whose loss we have sustained was in the full vigoi 
of manhood, with apparently many years of public usefulness 
before him, and with what was the almost certainty of eventu- 
ally crowning his career with a seat in the other branch of 
Congress. And yet in the scheme of Divine Omniscience 
nothing occurs by accident. In the constant and triumphant 
evolution of the human race, which leads us day by day and 
year by year nearer to our Maker, every atom of humanity has 
its own part assigned and has its own duty to perform. The 
end never comes until in Cod's -nod time that part has been 



Address of Mr. McCellan, of New York. 33 

played or that duty done. No man ever dies until he has 
accomplished the purpose for which he was placed on earth. 
When the gifts given a man are great, then is his responsibility 
the greater. When those gifts are applied as the Giver of all 
true and perfect gifts intended that they should be, then has 
their possessor not lived in vain, but has aided according to his 
ability the march of the evolution of humanity. 

Russell was endowed with an even, gentle, kindly disposi- 
tion. Industrious and painstaking, he had become one of the 
best-informed men in the United States upon the great national 
question of the tariff. His sterling integrity caused him to 
apply his knowledge conservatively. Never an extremist, 
profoundly convinced of the truth of his convictions, whatever 
he did was done in what he considered the cause of righteous- 
ness, whatever he accomplished was in what he thought the 
best interests of the people. 

Throughout the long months of suffering that preceded the 
end. when for his health's Nake he should have left the task of 
legislation to others, he stayed at his post unflinchingly, never 
complaining, never sparing himself, always cheerful, no matter 
what the effort cost him, always ready and anxious to bear his 
share of the work of the House, no matter how much he might 
suffer as the result. 

Other men have lived whose deeds have been more spectac- 
ular and who have more directly influenced the course of 
history; other names there are that have more space in the 
annals of the nation. Yet, when the record is made up at the 
end of time, when the last account is balanced between the 
good and the ill we have done, no page will be more pure or 
spotless than that upon which is written the name of CHARLES 
A. Russell — an able, honest, kindly gentleman, who never 
failed to do his duty, and in doing it added to the sum of 
human excellence and aided the progress of mankind. 
H. Doc. 465 3 



34 Life and Character of Charles A. Russell. 



ADDRESS OF MR. DALZELL, OF PENNSYLVANIA. 

Mr. Speaker: This Sabbath service to the memory of our 
dead colleague appeals stronglj to my sense of the fitness of 
things. Heretofore it has been the custom of the House to 
turn abruptly from affairs of state to these memorial services, 
and the custom has little tended to induce and stimulate that 
spirit of reverence and sorrow which belongs to our regard for 
the dead. It is more appropriate far, it seems to me. that we 
should meet for our present purpose while Christian men and 
women, if not devoting their thoughts to sacred things, are, 
at least, seeking rest from the cares and burdens of evervdav 
life, and having in mind the ideals of which such life is 
largely destructive. In this Sabbath calm, amid the company 
of Sabbath worshipers, I come to lay my humble wreath on 
the tomb of my departed friend. Charles A. Russell. He 
was my friend and I was his. To me his memory is and ever 
shall be sacred. 

While during the last session of Congress he seemed to 
those of us who knew him intimately to be fading from dav 
to day and maturing for eternity, nevertheless when the end 
came and we knew that he was no more the shock was great. 
Genial, sunny Charley Russell, he has outrun the rest of 
us in the race for the unknown, has anticipated us in solving 
the great mystery. "If a man die. shall he live again 3 " is 
the question that with Mr. Russell's death comes to each of 
us anew in personal and searching form: the question as old 
as the race and as unanswerable now as when first put by 
human weakness and human doubt. I )oes he know to-day 
that loving hearts are mourning his loss? Is he walking now 



Address of Mr. Dahcll, of Pennsylvania. 35 

the Elysian fields in sweet converse with the friends who 
preceded and the friends who followed him — with Dingley, 
with whom he was associated here, and with Reed, only 
recently stricken? Shall we know him again and he us when 
our turn shall come to cross the dark river? 

These are the questions the like of which press us for answer 
whenever into our circle, as the Latin poet has it, "the pale 
messenger conies who with impartial footstep knocks alike at 
poor man's cot and palace gate." Had we no answer to the 
question, no solution of doubts in divine revelation, we would 
still find the answer in the immortal qualities of head and heart 
that belonged to our departed friend. It is impossible of belief 
that the native virtues, the acquired accomplishments, the 
growing ability, the maturing but unmatured capacity to 
accomplish results represented in the brief life of Mr. Russell 
should prove fruitless and unavailing even in the economy of 
natural law. And so while we say to-day in sorrow " good- 
bve," we say also in hope and confidence to him upon whose 
brow is the light of an eternal day — "good morrow." 

Born in Worcester, Mass., only a little more than fifty years 
ago, Mr. Russell's life repeats in its beginning the history of 
the New England boy of comfortable birth. His first education 
was had in the admirable public schools of his native city. 
This was followed by discipline under a private tutor, Rev. 
Harris G. Greene. Then came four years' experience as a 
student amid the elms of Yale, in the atmosphere of that grand 
old university whose traditions and customs are those of a true 
democracy, where wealth nor influence prevails as against 
merit; where, be his condition as to name and fortune what it 
may, "a man's a man for a' that." 

The modest little school founded two hundred years ago by 
nien of prayer and faith, with the avowed purpose to fit young 



36 Life and Character of Charles .1. Russell. 

men "for puplic employment in church and state," has nobly 
fulfilled its purpose. Prayer has found its answer and faith its 
fruition in the great university, the roll of whose sons in civil 
life, in legislation, in the administration of law. in deed- of 
valor in every war where courage and patriotism have carried 
and defended our flag, lends luster to every chapter of our 
country's splendid history. 

On that roll of honor Charles A. Russell has a conspicu- 
ous place. It matters not how much he did — rather what he- 
did; he did what he could, and what he did was good and was 
well done. It is only natural to believe that it was here in 
this scholarly ami inspiring atmosphere that there entered into 
the young man's soul the ambition t<> enroll himself among the 
sons who, by engaging in public employment in the State. 
should fulfill Yale's high purpose. He was a faithful student 
and graduated with honor as a scholar at the age of 21. 
Returning then to his native city, he became the city editor of 
the Worcester Daily Press, a position which he retained with 
great credit for six years. Subsequently he served for a short 
time in an editorial capacity with the Worcester Spy. Later 
on, after his marriage in Connecticut, he moved to that State, 
and thenceforward his life history is connected therewith. 
He engaged in business there and became identified with its 
politics. He was appointed an officer on the governor's staff. 
He became a member of the State legislature ami served upon 
important committees. lie was elected secretary of state. 
Then he came to Congress in the Fiftieth Congress, when and 
where I first met him, he and I being both new members. As 
Yale men we naturally came together at once, beginning a 
personal friendship which was intimate anil cordial down to 
the time of his death. 

The period covered by Mr. Russell's service has mi parallel 



Address of Mr. Dalzell, of Pennsylvania. 37 

in importance in all our country's later history outside of the 
period covered by the civil war. Within it were stormy and 
tempestuous discussions over great economic questions and 
their partial settlement. Our friend listened to tliL- debates on 
the Mills bill and saw it go down to defeat. He witnessed the 
struggle over the McKinley bill, and was cm terms of intimacy 
with the great and loving soul that gave it its name. With 
all mankind he shared in the sorrow and joined in the proces- 
sion that followed McKinley to a martyr's tomb. He took 
part in the deliberations that resulted in the passage of the 
Wilson bill, and like the rest of us felt and appreciated its 
results. He was a factor in the legislation upon the financial 
question, a question which swept the country like a hurricane 
and was dominant not alone in the determination of our policy 
and the choice of our rulers, but in the determination of our 
national destiny. He was one of the committee that framed 
the Dingley bill, and foremost among those who held up the 
arm of our great and lamented leader. Of the six minority 
members of that committee not a single one now remains in 
the House. Of the eleven majority members only six remain 
in the House, and when this Congress shall expire only four 
will remain as members of the next House. Two have died, 
two have gone to the Senate, and three to private life. 

He was in the center of the storm that with such fury beat 
upon the House following upon the tragic sinking of the Maine 
in Habana Harbor and that swept the House with irresistible 
force into the declaration of the Spanish war. He witnessed 
the triumphs of our Navy in that brief and decisive conflict 
and rejoiced with all his countrymen in the luster that Ameri- 
can valor lent to American arms. He took a conspicuous part 
in the deliberation upon and in the decision of questions fol- 
lowing upon that war's close. He saw our flag carried and 



3S Life and Character of Charles .1. Russell. 

planted far beyond our borders, and appreciated the importance 
of the great (im.---ti.ni> that such adventure called upon us to 
face. He saw the opening of a new century and with it the 
beginning of a new national destiny. Of all the important 
happenings of the period to which I have referred it was his 
to say "quorum pars fui," and as to all his acts and doings in 
connection therewith he went down to death with the happy 
consciousness of duty faithfully done. There is no spot on his 
escutcheon, no rust upon his armor. Like the great untitled 
Frenchman of Napoleon's army, he is "dead on the field of 
honor." 

Mr. Russell was a man of strong intellect and, preemi- 
nently, of good judgment. His ruling characteristic was 
practical common sense. He was well poised: not without 
enthusiasm, but not given to extravagance or hysteria. He 
was deliberate, judicial in his make-up. He would have 
adorned the bench. He was honest of intellect. When I say 
honest 'it' intellect, I speak advisedly, for there i- more than 
one kind of honesty. To keep premises, and pay debt-, not 
to cheat one's neighbor is one kind of honesty; but that kind 
of honesty may consist with the dishonesty of intellect which 
permits a man to cheat himself, and in pursuance of personal 
ends to play the demagogue. Mr. Russell never could have 
been a demagogue. He was as intellectually as he was person- 
ally honest. He reasoned straight. He thought honestly. 
II is mental processes were clear. He never was even honestly 
milled. He was a useful man. He did things. He was a 
man of high ideals, and loyal to them. He was a forceful 
man, because he lived for a purpose and kept it always in 
view. He was courageous without boasting, and true to his 
convictions as the needle to the pole. He was a modest man, 
but modesty could not hide his virtues, and his fellows 



Address of Mr. Dalzell, of Pennsylvania. 39 

appreciated him more than he did himself. His virtues shone 
in his daily life and demanded recognition. He was a clean 
man, above suspicion ; an honest man, above question. 

He had thus, as I have shown, the qualities that lie at the 
base of efficient public service. I am aware that the language 
of eulogy is generally the language of extravagance, and 
remembering this I believe that I have not done myself in- 
justice in what I have said, but only have rendered justice 
to our dead colleague. 

Far away in importance above and beyond the life that the 
most illustrious man leads in the public eye is his home life, 
Xo relations so sacred as those that cluster around the hearth- 
stone. Xo test of character so true as that which measures 
loyalty or disloyalty to home duties. 

Mr. Russell was a man of pure and simple life. The altar 
at which he worshiped was in his home. The wealth of his 
affection found its objects there, and the dearest wishes of his 
great heart found their highest gratification in bringing happi- 
ness to those of his household. However much Connecticut 
may mourn the loss of her distinguished son, the grief of all 
griefs, into which we may not intrude, is that of those to 
whom he was not statesman or legislator, but husband and 
father. From our standpoint he died all too soon. But we 
are not keeping the books. The Master is. He knows both 
sides of the account. It is ours to believe that he closed 
Charles A. Russell's account when, in the eternal fitness of 
thinsrs, the balance was on the right side. 



40 Life and Character of Charles A. Russell, 



ADDRESS OF MR. GROSVENOR, OF OHIO. 

Mk. Speaker: The death of Chaki.es A. Russell came to 
me as a personal sorrow. I made his acquaintance at once 
upon his coming litre in the Fiftieth Congress. He repre- 
sented the district in Connecticut in which I was born and I 
felt something more than an ordinary interest in him, and 
hence sought his acquaintance at the outset of his career. 
Later he became a member of the Committee on Ways and 
Means and served on that committee until, by his death, that 
committee suffered an irreparable loss. He was a member of 
that committee at the time pending the interval between the 
election of William McKinley and the assembling of the Con- 
gress at the special session called by the President in lSuj. 
The Republican members of the committee prepared the 
Dingley bill, and he was a faithful, intelligent, efficient, and 
valuable member of the committee until his death. 

He was nut a man given to display or show on the floor of 
tlte House or in the committee room, but there was not a 
member of that committee whose opinion was accepted as of 
greater value than was his. He enjoyed the full confidence of 
Mr. Dingley. He was a man of laborious tendencies. He 
never took hold of a matter that was of interest and laid it 
down until he had mastered the full details of it, and under- 
stood all that was to be ascertained by investigation. As i 
representative from his State he was especially valuable and 
untiring in representing the special interests of Connecticut 
ami New England. There was no article manufactured in that 
great, busy hive of manufacturing industry that he did not 
understand the genesis of its production, the details of its 



Address of Mr. Grosvenor, of Ohio. 41 

progress, and the success of its growth and development, but 
he was not narrow or provincial. He brought to the discharge 
of his duties broad views of patriotic purpose and wise applica- 
tion of facts to principles. 

Amid the perplexing questions of detail that constantly 
arose at every step of our pathway in the development of the 
Dingley bill, he never lost sight of principles as well as details 
of special situations. He dealt with the questions which 
arose with a mind almost judicial in its development, and he 
was free from prejudice, bias, or hasty decision. He had 
broad intelligence and far-reaching knowledge. His thorough 
education had well fitted him for the acquirement of knowl- 
edge, and his mode of thought enabled him to master details 
while not losing sight of generalities. His views were always 
valued by his colleagues and great attention was always paid 
to his suggestions. 

He was an able and valuable member of Congress; not one 
who displayed his efficiency in the forum of debate, but one 
who had a clear understanding of the questions before him 
and who drove straight at the purposes which he formed. 
So much for his ability. 

I do not know what his early occupation had been, except- 
ing as it appears in his brief biography in the Congressional 
Directory. As I have said, he represented the district in 
which I was born. I first saw the light of day in the little 
country hamlet of Pomfret, only a few miles away from the 
home of "Russell and the place of his death. 

I visited his district, calling upon friends of my father at the 
home of my infancy. I met the constituents of RrsSELL at 
one of their county fairs. I saw many of them during the time 
that I spent in Connecticut; and I was delighted to learn, as I 
did learn from all sources of information, that he had a strong 



42 Life and Character of Charles A. Russell. 

and abiding hold upon the confidence and esteem of his con- 
stituents. They believed in him. They appreciated his quali- 
ties of mind and heart. They understood him fully. They 
looked up to him. He represented in his mental characteristics 
and the sternness of his principles faithfully the old-time, 
honored, and beloved State of Connecticut — the State that we 
laugh about sometimes, sneer at, it may be, occasionally, but, 
after all, a State that stands to-day typifying in her social, 
industrial, and political attitude and purpose the true repre- 
sentative of the old-time New England. She has produced 
great men, sturdy men, men of high character, men of national 
repute, and in her fallen son her true characteristics were 
strongly presented and truly expressed. 

I can not speak of RUSSELL without going to the personal 
view. He was not a man demonstrative of his friendship, but 
he was a man who impressed his good qualities upon those 
with whom he came in contact. If ever there was a man who 
despised false pretenses and who looked past the surface to the 
matter of intrinsic merit, he had that faculty, and hence to be 
his friend and to be recognized as his friend was not only a 
pleasure, but was moreover a distinguished compliment, which 
no one who knew him would fail to appreciate. He was by no 
means taciturn among his friends. He was by no means lack- 
ing in humor and appreciation of a good thing, but he was 
careful in all he said to offend no one unnecessarily and t<> 
always fully appreciate those by whom he was surrounded. 

One of his great characteristics, and one that could not be 
hidden from his associates even though he should have tried to 
do so, was the strong love and deep filial affection that he had 
for his family. I think that when he began to appreciate that 
his health was failing, as he did appreciate a considerable time 
ago, his deep concern was not for himself — self in that instance 



Address of Mr. Grosvenor, of Ohio. 4;, 

was a secondary consideration — but it was his anxiety for those 

he loved with such intensity of affection. He spoke often of 

his children. He was proud of the progress that his sun made 

in his studies and he did not hesitate to manifest the pride of a 

fond father, but his reference to his personal affairs was never 

obtrusive, but always thoughtful, wise, and judicious. 

I do not know what were his religious opinions; I never 

heard him express them. That he was a Christian in all the 

essential elements of Christianity I never doubted and d" not 

doubt now. Whether or not he was an adherent of a creed. 

and if so. what creed, I can not answer: but the old proposition 

that 

He can not be greatly wrong 
Whose heart is in the right, 

would have applied without qualification to our friend. He 

lived and exhibited the principles of Christianity, and. having 

done so, the question of his belief is not essential. 

He fell in the very zenith of his usefulness. He had reached 
a position of influence and of power, and was certain to have 
reached a high place, with broader opportunities, but he fell 
short of the fulfillment of his modest ambition. 

He left behind him a record that will lie a monument 
of emulation to those who are to follow him; he left behind 
him sorrowing friends and weeping relatives; he left be- 
hind him admiring associates and a constituency always glad 
to do him honor. 

We shed here a tear of friendship; we come with warm 
hearts to do him honor; we speak of him as we knew him and 
as we loved him. 



44 Life and Character of Charles A. Russell. 



Address of Mr. McCall, of Massachusetts. 

Mr. Speaker: I do not take the floor with the hope that I 
can add anything of weight and beauty to the eulogies that 
have been so fitly spoken, but I am unwilling that this occasion 
should pass by without a word to hint at the high esteem in 
which I held Charles A. Russell. I cherish his memory' 
because of his long and honorable career, because of the fine 
qualities of manhood which ennobled him, and because I am 
glad to believe he was my personal friend, as I was his. A 
native of the Commonwealth of which I have the honor to be 
one of the Representatives, identified during his mature years 
with the neighboring State of Connecticut, from which he 
received his various commissions for public service, he was a 
genuine product of New England and in him were easily traced 
the simple and uplifting discipline of her life. 

He had the inheritance of sterling qualities of mind and 
body; he was nurtured under institutions which are unsur- 
passed in the freedom of thought and speech, and in the gen- 
erous invitation they extend to the individual man to make the 
most of the powers (rod has given him. His strong mental 
characteristic was. I think, the tact with which he would 
endeavor to secure the cooperation of other men in bringing 
about what he might wish to accomplish. Firm, but not 
assertive, utterly' lacking in the vanity that leads to self- 
exploitation, his efforts did not excite personal antagonism. 

He was sagacious in detecting the weak points of measures 
he did not like, but he was measured in his criticism, kindly 
and fair in his methods, and his manner never wounded the 
self-love of those who were working for other ends. He was 



Address of Mr. McCall, of Massachusetts. 45 

an antagonist to whom it was easy to submit and over whom 
one would prevail with regret rather than with elation. He 
did not often claim the attention of the House in debate; indeed. 
speaking as he did, with force and vigor, he was among those 
who spoke too rarely. It was a pleasure to be associated with 
him in a common cause and to rely upon his ready resources 
and his choice gift of common sense. 

He inspired one with a sense of his reserved power and, equal 
to any position which he held, you felt that he would be equal 
to any public place, however high, to which he might be called. 
The House does well to pause to-day and take note of the great 
loss which it has suffered. A strong, manly man, a sweet- 
hearted friend, a devoted and distinguished servant of the State 
has fallen. While we pay our heartfelt tribute to his memory 
kt us take into our hearts the lesson of his noble life. 



46 Life and Character of Charles A. Russell, 



ADDRESS OF MR. STARK, OF NEBRASKA. 

Mr. Speaker: This service, in memory of the Hon. 
Charles A. Russell, late a Representative from the Third 
district of the Commonwealth of Connecticut, brings with a 
peculiar force some recollections attending my entrance here as 
a member of this body. 

I was from the State where resided in the campaign of 1896 
a great standard bearer who had been overpowered by superior 
numbers, and the fires of that conflict had not yet died out. I 
was 1 member of a political party that by comparison was small 
in number. It was said by some that these conditions were 
much against my service, as a member of that body. Personally 
this had but little effect upon me. having learned to be always 
stout of heart and remembering when troubles and difficulties 
come, "They all shall pass away.'' 

Experience teaches the thoughtful man that it is not of 
much consequence what others say, but it is of the greatest 
importance what he does; that in this life there must be '.10 
drifting; there must lie a settled purpose to reach a given 
point; there must be a policy laid down and worked to all the 
way along. All new Congressmen soon discover that the) cm 
elect between two policies — whether they will confine them- 
selves to being of service to their people by looking diligently 
after their main- wants, or. by frequent speech and interview. 
attempt the difficult task of leadership. I adopted the first- 
named policy, for it was within my reach and more to my 
liking; but. being without experience, it was necessar) for 
some one who was well prepared by long service to "lend a 
hand" to the end that it might become effective. 



Address of Mr. Stark, of Nebraska. 47 

Just at that time Mr. RrsSELL came to me as a volunteer in 
the most kindly and whole-hearted manner and offered any 
service that he could perform. The antithesis of my political 
conviction, a stranger, he based his proffer on the ground that 
as I had been born and grown to manhood in his district he 
was interested that I should give a good account of myself. 
being a kind of a constituent of his. Appreciating the genu- 
ineness of his offer, I was quick to avail myself of his sugges- 
tions as to methods of departmental work. 

In this presence I publicly acknowledge my debt of gratitude 
to Mr. Russell and testify t<> his helpful nature and his great 
ability. He held out his hand to me not because my kinsfolk 
lived in his district and I might be of service in a political 
way. but because he was a manly man and well knew in his 
own heart the natural law that no person ever forgets his 
birthplace. 

While I love my adopted State, where I have lived all my 
manhood years, where is located my permanent home, and 
where I shall rest at the last, yet at times my heart turns with 
love and veneration to the old homestead in Xew London 
County and takes a pride in the history of the Commonwealth 
of Connecticut. May I have force of character enough and 
grace great enough to prove myself a worthy son of that old 
Continental State. 

When the word came of the passing of Mr. Russell it was 
to me a personal sorrow that such a kindly soul could not be of 
further help, and that his individual counsel could no longer 
avail. Then I thought that his influence is still in the world, 
for that which is good can not die. Though the law of the 
material realm tends u . dissolution, no mental force, no spiritual 
energy, no moral principle, ever dies. 

The material world is dominated by an immaterial principle, 



48 Life and Character oj Charlei A. Russell. 

and in all the universal realm there is no such potent force as 
love. Itself unarmed, it disarms all its adversaries. This is the 
power that ruled the subject of this memorial occasion. He was 
gentle, helpful, and earnest in all his dealings with men. 

This principle was not only the potency that ruled, but the 
monitor that guided his life. Those who knew him well learned 
that his course and reckoning were — 

To love some one more dearly every day, 

To help some wand'ring child to find the way, 

T<> ponder o'er a noble thought and prav. 

And smile when evening falls. 
To follow truth as blind men long for sight, 
To do the best from early dawn till night, 
To keep the heart fit for His holy sight, 

And answer when He calls. 



Address of Mr. Babcock, of Wisconsin. 49 



Address of Mr. Babcock, of Wisconsin. 

Mr. Speaker: One of the earliest acquaintances I formed 
upon becoming a member of this body in the Fifty-third Con- 
gress, or nearly ten years ago, was that of the gentleman to 
whose memory we are paying tribute to-day. From that time 
until his last illness our friendship was cordial and sincere. I 
therefore do not desire that this opportunity shall pass with- 
out adding my tribute to the character and services of the late 
Charles Addison Russell. 

In the later years of his public service I was associated with 
him on the Committee on Ways and Means and realize that in 
his death we have lost a statesman whose public and private 
life was ever above reproach. 

Hi-- acts and motives were at all times dictated by an intense 
desire to do only that which was right and just, and which 
would reflect the greatest honor upon his State and country. 
He was broad minded, liberal in his views, never influenced by 
narrow prejudices, and in every sense a typical American, 
whose future was full of promise. 

The death of Mr. RrssELL was sincerely mourned by the 
entire people of his State. It was my privilege to attend the 
funeral sendees at his home in Connecticut, and I do not 
believe I ever witnessed expressions of more sincere and gen- 
uine sorrow than on that occasion, and I had an opportunity to 
learn of and observe the high regard and tender affection in 
■which he was held by his neighbors and constituents. 

Mr. Speaker, the world is better for his having lived, and we 
should all be proud to follow the upright course he pursued. 

Mr. Dalzell. Mr. Speaker, I have information that there 
H. Doc. 465 4 



5<d Life and Character of Charles A. Russell. 

are some other gentlemen who would like to bear witness to 
Mr. RUSSELL'S memory, and I therefore ask unanimous consent 
that general leave to print be granted. 

The Speaker pro tempore. If there be no objection, that 
leave will be granted. 

There was no objection. 

Mr. Henry, of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I now ask that the three 
series of pending resolutions be adopted. 

The question being taken, the resolutions were unanimously 
adopted. 

The Speaker pro tempore (at 2 o'clock and 55 minutes 
p. m. ). In obedience to the resolutions just adopted, the House 
stands adjourned. 



Proceedings in the Senate. 

December 2, 1902. 

MESSAGE FROM THK HOUSE. 

Mr. William J. Browning, the Chief Clerk of the House of 
Representatives, appeared below the bar of the Senate and 
delivered the following" message: '■'■'■ 

I am further directed to communicate to the Senate the 
intelligence of the death of Hon. Charles A. Russell, late a 
Representative from the State of Connecticut, and to transmit 
resolutions of the House thereon. 

DEATH OF REPRESENTATIVE CHARLES A. RUSSELL. 

Mr. Platt. of Connecticut. Mr. President, I ask that the 
resolutions of the House- of Representatives communicating 
the intelligence of the death of Hon. Chaki.es A. Russell, be 
laid before the Senate. 

The President pro tempore. The Chair lays before the 
Senate resolutions from the House of Representatives, which 
will be read. 

The Secretary read the resolutions, as follows: 

Resoh'ed, That the House has heard with deep retrret and profound 
sorrow of the death of the Hon. Chari.es A. RrsSKi.i., late a Representa- 
tive from the State of Connecticut. 

Resolved, That the Clerk of the House communicate these resolutions 
to the Senate and transmit a copy thereof to the family of the deceased. 

Resolved, That as a further mark of respect the House do now adjourn. 

M . Platt, of Connecticut. I desire that the resolutions of 

the House may lie on the table for the present, and I present 

the following resolutions, which I ask may be immediately 

considered. 

51 



52 /.iff and Character of Charles A. Russell. 

The President pro tempore. The resolutions submitted by 
the Senator from Connecticut will be read. 

The Secretary read the resolutions, as follow-.: 

Resolved, That the Senate lias heard with deep sensibility the announce- 
ment of the death of Hon. Chari.es A. RUSSELL, late a Representative 
from the State of Connecticut. 

Resolved, That as an additional mark of respect to the memory of the 
deceased, the Senate do now adjourn. 

The resolutions were considered by unanimous consent, and 
unanimously agreed to; and (at i o'clock and 52 minutes 
p. m. ) the Senate adjourned until to-morrow, Wednesday, 
December 3, 1002, at 12 o'clock m. 

January 26, 1903. 

MESSAGE FROM THE Hcil'sH. 

The message further communicated to the Senate resolutions 
passed by the House commemorative of the life and services 
of Hon. Charles A. Russell, late a Representative from the 
State of Connecticut. 



MEMORIAL ADDRESSES. 

January 30, 1903. 

Mr. Platt, of Connecticut. Mr. President, I wish to give 
notice that on Saturday, February 14, at 4 o'clock in the after 
noon, I will present resolutions in commemoration of the life 
and character of Hon. Charles A. Russell, late a member 
of the House of Representatives from the Third district of 
Connecticut. 

February 14, 1903. 

Mr. Pi.att, of Connecticut. Mr. President, I ask that there 
be laid before the Senate the resolutions from the House of 
Representatives relating to the death of Hon. Charles A. 
Russell, late a Representative from the State of Connecticut. 

The President pro tempore. The resolutions of the House 
of Representatives will be read. 

The Secretary read the resolutions, as follows: 

In THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 

January 25, 1903. 

Resolved, That in pursuance of the special order heretofore adopted, 
tlie House proceed to pay tribute to the memory of Hon. Chari.es A. 
RUSSELL, late a member of the House of Representatives from the State 
of Connecticut. 

Resolved, That as a particular mark of respect to the memory of the 
deceased, and in recognition of his eminent abilities as a faithful and dis- 
tinguished public servant, the House, at the conclusion of the memorial 
proceedings of this day, shall stand adjourned. 

Resolved, That the Clerk communicate these resolutions to the Senate. 

Resolved, That the Clerk be. and is hereby, instructed to send a copy of 
these resolutions to the family of the deceased. 

Mr. PlaTT, of Connecticut. Mr. President, I present the 
resolutions which I send to the desk, and ask for their adoption. 

53 



54 Life and Character of Charles A. Russell. 

The President pro tempore. The resolutions will be read. 
The Secretary read the resolutions, as follows: 

Resolved, That the Senate has heard with profound sorrow the announce- 
ment of the death of Hon. Charles A. Russell, late a Representative 
from the Si an of Connecticut. 

Resolved, That the business of the Senate be now suspended, in order 
that fitting tribute be paid to his memory. 

Resolved, That as an additional mark of respect the Senate, at the con- 
clusion of these ceremonies, do adjourn. 



Address of Mr. Piatt, of Connecticut. 55 



ADDRESS OF MR. PLATT, OF CONNECTICUT. 

Mr. President: Charles Addison Russell, who repre- 
sented the Third Congressional district of Connecticut for 
sixteen years, a period exceeding in length of service that of 
any predecessor, died at his home in Killingly, Conn., on the 
23d day of October. 1902. I speak of him to-day as an honored 
colleague and a much-loved friend. 

Mr. RuSSELL was born in Worcester, Mass., March 2. 1852. 
His father, Isaiah Dunster Russell, was a merchant of that 
city, and his mother was Nancy M. [Wentworth] Russell. 
His ancestry was of the best, being a descendant through his 
father of Isaiah Dunster, who was the first president of 
Harvard College, and through his mother of Benning Went- 
worth. who. in the early history of that State, was governor 
of New Hampshire. His great-grandfather, Jason Russell, 
was killed on the 19th of April. 1775, in his own doorway, by 
the British on their retreat from Lexington and Concord. 
Thus by heredity he united in his character scholarly attain- 
ment, civic tendency, and patriotic ardor. 

Mr. Russell's parents were not rich, neither were they 
poor. His advantages were only those of the well-born New 
England boy. whose future is to be fixed by self-effort. 
Energy, determination, and aspiration are the chief character- 
istics of such boys, and these first manifested themselves in 
the case of young Russell when he became a carrier of 
morning newspapers. 

It is impossible to fully and justly analyze the effect of 
early surroundings upon life and character, and no one may 



56 Life and Character of Charles A. Russell. 

even now clearly set- how much of the future man was due 

to the daily work of the carrier boy. who, in the pure New 
England atmosphere and mid the peculiar New England en- 
vironments, faithfully, morning by morning, delivered the 
papers along his route, year in and year out. thereby earning 
the first money for self-support and development. There was 
in that work the element of faithfulness which so marked his 
whole career. 

He had the ordinary educational advantages which the place 
of his birth afforded. He entered the high school; prepared 
tor college; was matriculated at Vale, and graduated in 1S73. 
After graduation he engaged in newspaper work, becoming a 
member of the editorial staff of the Worcester Press; was also 
connected with the Worcester Spy, and was correspondent for 
Xew York and Huston daily papers. 

On May 14, 1879, Mr. RusSEU. married Miss Ella Frances 
Sayles, daughter of Sabin L. Sayles, a prominent woolen man- 
ufacturer of Killingly, Conn. A most hearty and generous 
welcome was extended by Connecticut to the young man from 
Massachusetts, and from the very day he took up his residence 
in our State he was thought of only as a Connecticut man; he 
soon attracted the attention and confidence of the people. In 
ism and [882 he was a member of the governor's staff, and 
then chosen to the legislature. In 1885 he was elected 
secretary of state, ami in 1886 was nominated and elected to 
Congress. He served as Representative eight successive terms, 
and had been enthusiastically renominated for a ninth. 

I need not speak in detail of his career in the House of 
Representatives. He constantlj grew in the estimation of his 
associates until at the time of his death I think I may say 
without qualification that no member was more respected, 
trusted, honored, or loved than he. His colleagues relied upon 



Address of Mr. Piatt, of Connecticut. 57 

his sound judgment and his clear perception of what was best 
for the country and the people. He never assumed to be a 
leader, and yet he was in the truest and best sense a real leader. 
He never posed for admiration or applause, but he was a man 
of unwavering purpose, ever going straight forward to 
accomplishment. Real leadership is seldom achieved by mere 
eloquence or oratory. The orator gains applause, but does not 
often influence greatly the judgment of his hearers. 

Thorough and complete understanding of problems and 
policies, an honest, unflinching, confidence-inspiring purpose, 
constitute the qualities which make up real leadership. These 
characteristics Mr. Russell possessed in an eminent degree. 
When men were in doubt they turned to him, because they 
knew that he had mastered both the principles and the details 
involved in proposed legislation; they knew him to be unselfish 
and true, and for these reasons they followed him. In times 
of uncertainty and danger, of complication and embarrassment, 
they sought his advice and direction. It was in critical 
situations that his influence was most marked. 

When the sea is smooth and the wind is fair almost any 
seaman can sail the ship, but in the storm, amid billows and 
breakers, the skillful pilot must take the helm. His colleagues 
recognized in Mr. Russkll a skillful pilot: many a time he 
brought the ship safely through the storm. Still he was a 
most modest man; he never thrust himself to the front; he 
was unassuming, retiring, but never distrustful of himself. 
His speeches did not occupy a large space in the Record, and 
when, all too infrequently, he did speak, there was no 
suggestion of self-consciousness or self-seeking in what he 
said: he spoke as he thought, with decision, directness, anil 
force. What he said carried conviction and formulated opinion 
in others. 



5S Life and Character of Charles A. Russtll. 

He was a rare man. It is difficult to single out from the 
many estimable gifts of his mind and heart one more con- 
spicuous than another. If I might venture to do so, I would 
say that the most striking quality with which he was endowed 
was that of faithfulness — faithfulness to his work, his duty, 
his constituents, his country, his friends, his family. It is 
hard to tell just what it is in a man that makes others love 
him. There must be more than mere attractiveness to produce 
friendship and love. I have never known a man more beloved 
by those who knew him than Mr. Russell. I tried in his 
lifetime, and have tried since his death to determine what it 
was in him that brought about such universal affection for 
him, and I think it was more than anything else this quality 
of faithfulness of which I have spoken. In the closing book 
of the New Testament may be found the injunction, which 
rings with inspiration, " Re ye faithful unto death." It seems 
t<> me that Mr. Rtsskll during all his life, and even to his 
latest hours, perfectly fulfilled this command. 

During the last session of Congress which he attended, friends 
marked with apprehension the steady, stealthy footsteps of the 
disease to which he finally succumbed, but he never faltered in 
his work: sometimes it seemed as if he were staggering to his 
fall, but with unusual courage braced himself to go on. When 
compelled at last to relinquish his toil here and seek rest else- 
where, he insisted, while on his way to the train which was to 
bear him finally away from the scene of his labors, upon stop- 
ping to do a departmental service for a friend who was not a 
constituent. This touching incident illustrates his faithfulness 
as scarcely anything else could. He entered Congressa youth- 
ful man: he left it in the prime of his life, when it seemed as if 
greater honors and opportunities for usefulness were just ahead 
of him, as if he could not be spared by his district, his State. 



Address of Mr. Piatt, of Connecticut. 59 

his country, his friends, or his loved ones, and yet his was a 
rounded and, as we look at it now, a complete life. 

To live truly and nobly and to die beloved — what more can 
there be to that which we call life? And, after all, if our faith 
is not misplaced, his life has but begun. We part from dying 
friends with sad and breaking hearts; but why should we? 
With the assurance that this brief stay here is but preliminary 
to a better, happier, and grander life, why should we mourn 
when the spirit leaves the body. Our hearts do not break when 
we part with friends who set sail for a foreign country, from 
which we have no reason to expect their return. We realize, 
indeed, that we shall see their faces no more, but we cherish 
them in our hearts as still living, still enjoying, still doing; that 
we may thus cherish the friends who have passed from our 
sight into a new world makes life worth living and shuts out 
despair. 

Parting with my colleague, my comrade, and my dear friend, 
I repeat the words of David when he mourned for Jonathan; 
" Very pleasant hast thou been unto me; thy love to me was 
wonderful, passing the love of woman;" and I hold fast to my 
faith that he still lives, that he still loves me as I love him. 



6o Life and Character of Charles A. Russell. 



ADDRESS OF MR. FRYE, OF MAINE. 

Mr. President: It seems to me proper thai I should drop 
a modest flower on the grave of Mr. Russell, for through 

his entire public life we were intimate friends. Here in 
Washington we lived at the same hotel, in adjoining rooms. 
I have been a guest at his home. I have been associated 
with him in political campaigns. The last summer of his 
life he was my near neighbor at the seashore, where he was 
striving to regain strength and health. I thought that the 
contest there was an unequal one and that he would be 
vanquished, but he was patient, courageous, and hopeful. 

Mr. President, it is a pathetic picture, that of a man com- 
paratively young, who had been strong and vigorous, fighting 
a battle for life. Shortly after. Mr. RuSSELL died. It 
undoubtedly occurred to most of us who were his friends that 
his death was premature. But was it 2 The speech just made 
by the Senator from Connecticut [Mr. Piatt] answers that 
question. It was not premature. The true measure of life is 
not length of years. It is achievements accomplished in the 
years which God gives us. 

William McKinley did not reach the three score years and 
ten, but he was a soldier, a statesman, a member of the 
National House of Representatives, governor of his State. 
President of the Republic. He was, living beloved, and dying 
mourned by more men and mine women than ever loved or 
mourned any other man. Was not that life a rounded one? 

A few days since in this Chamber memorial exercises were 
held over one of our late colleagues, the Senator from Michi- 
gan, Mr. McMillan. Read those eulogies — evidently sincere. 



Address of Mr, Frye, of Maine. 61 

in no sense exaggerated — and then tell me, Was not that life 
complete J 

Judged by that standard, the life of Charles A. Russell 
was in no sense a failure. He had the affection and confidence 
of his people. He served them in their assembly, was their 
secretary of state, was elected by them nine times to the 
National House of Representatives. In that great body, where 
competition and rivalry are always intense, where one wears 
only what one wins and never any more, he secured a con- 
spicuous position and was recognized as a man of strength 
and power. He served on many important committees, and 
at the time of his death was a member of the "Ways and 
Means." He was regarded as an authority on all questions 
of revenue. He was constant in his attendance on the House 
and in committee, and the natural result of that followed — he 
was a potent factor in legislation. 

He was a good debater. He never wasted words, never 
talked to the galleries, but his speeches were always made 
to the subject under discussion — concise, logical, forcible — 
and they commanded the attention of the House. As a plat- 
form orator, he was graceful in manner, agreeable in presence, 
with a pleasant voice, with convictions and ever the courage 
of them, honest and forcible in utterance, and he invariably 
commanded the confidence and attention of his audiences. 

As a citizen of Connecticut he early gained the confidence 
and affection of his fellow-citizens to a most extraordinary 
degree, regardless of party affiliations, though he himself was 
a strong party man. He favored by precept and example 
everything calculated to promote the public welfare, to elevate 
and improve the condition of the people, to promote religion, 
education, and temperance. 

In his own home he was delightful, sunny, cheerful, loving 



'-' Life and Character of Charles .1. Russell. 

his fireside better than any other place in the world. He was a 
devoted husband, an affectionate and indulgent father. Death 
has made that home desolate indeed. 

Mr. President, such sad experiences as these, coming upon 
us so frequently, ought to admonish each one of us. God's 
ways are not ours. Each one of us is to cross ' ' The Covered 
Bridge" at His will, not our own. We have left to us sub- 
mission to that Divine will and the duty of honest, constant. 
vigilant endeavor for every day the dear Lord gives us. 



Address of Mr. Lodge, of Massachusetts, 63 



Address of Mr. Lodge, of Massachusetts. 

Mr. President: Mr. Rcssell and I entered Congress at the 

same time. He was a native of my State and there received 
his early education. He graduated at Vale soon after I grad- 
uated from Harvard. We had, therefore, many associations in 
common when we first met in Washington, and the friendship 
then formed was never broken. My contemporary in age and 
in public service, his untimely death was to me a very personal 
sorrow, but the sense of personal los>, however deep, is. on an 
occasion like this, overshadowed by that of the larger loss which 
has come to the State and nation which Mr. Risski.i. served so 
faithfully, so well, and with so much distinction. 

He brought to his public service strong character, high prin- 
ciples, the thorough education of one of our .^reat universities, 
and the practical training which came from the management 
of a large industry in a great industrial community. 

Sir Henry Taylor's familiar aphorism that "The world 
knows nothing of its greatest men" is one of those cheerful 
falsehoods in which failure finds consolation. But there is 
much truth in the modified proposition that the world often 
knows too little of its most useful men. This is especially the 
case in public life when a man is quiet and modest as Mr. 
Russell always was, and possesses slight aptitude, if not 
positive distaste, for the arts of self-advertisement. It is an 
ancient saying that if you can make the songs of a nation it 
matters not who makes their laws, and it too often happens 
that song and speech and writings obscure the labors of those 
who, with toil and diligence at once incessant and obscure, 
build up the statutes which embody a nation's policy and 



'I Life a/!,/ Charade) of Charles .1. Russell. 

which touch the business and prosperity of all the men and 
women who dwell within her borders. 

Mr. Russell's work, lor which he deserves not only remem- 
brance but the gratitude of the country and of his own State. 
was essentially that oi a lawmaker. For sixteen years he 
represented in Congress a district composed of a substantial 
and prosperous New England population; a district with varied 
industries which demanded the constant and faithful watch- 
fulness of one who thoroughly understood them. He guarded 
those interests jealously, yet without losing sight of the broader 
relationship which a Representative in Congress hears to dis- 
tricts and States other than his own. At the time of his 
death he had been tor many years an influential member of 
the Committee on Ways and Means, and while a member of 
that committee he bore a conspicuous part in framing the 
tariff law which is now upon the statute book and under 
which the country has enjoyed a prosperity and witnessed an 
expansion of trade such as ii has never known befo 

Just how much of the effectiveness of that measure is due 
to his painstaking labor and clear intelligence it is hard to 
sa\ , for the work of a committee is done behind closed doors. 
That which we surely know is that Mr. Russell was the 
trusted lieutenant oi Mr. Dingley, who Leaned upon him in 
those days of harassing responsibility more heavily perhaps 
than upon any other man. Mr. RuSSELL was in a peculiar 
sense the representative of New England at that period. The 
industries of Massachusetts, I know, turned to him as freely 
as the industries of his own State. They found in him a 
willing, patient, and never-tiring friend. He labored day by 
day and night by night upon dr\ schedules and wearying 
statistics without complaint, and in the full knowledge that 
the work he performed had in it for him no personal gain 



Address of Mr. Lodge, of Massachusetts. 65 

and little opportunity for the reputation which glitters in the 
newspapers and that his only lasting reward must be the 
consciousness oi duty done. 

He was not an orator, and made no pretense "I being one. 
He could state a proposition clearly and effectively. His 
sincerity carried conviction, and he was satisfied with that. 
The higher flights of oratory he never undertook, and the 
merely superficial fame that comes to a ready and attractive 
public speaker he never sought. He was content if he could 
see the measures he advocated meet with success, no matter 
whether he received individual credit or not. His public 
service was thus marked by an unselfishness which is by U0 
means common. The influence he exerted quietly in a body 
where unobtrusive helpfulness counts for much was very great 
indeed. He was looked up to by his associates as a wise and 
safe adviser, with great strength of character and a fine 
capacity for accomplishing results. 

IK- was an educated man of business. He had the breadth 
of view which is fostered by a college training, and the prac- 
tical sense which comes from business experience, lie tinder- 
stood well the true relationship of business to public affairs. 
Although he had been so long in public lite he really stood it 
the threshold of what promised to be a continued career of 
ever-broadening usefulness. His death was premature for his 
country and his friends, for he was in the fullness of his 
powers and we all hoped and believed that larger fields of 
achievement and a wider fame were opening ln-fore him. 

The country has lost in him an honorable, able, skillful, 
and laborious legislator, the State of Connecticut a distin- 
guished and faithful representative, and those who knew him 
a beloved and honored friend. 
II. Doc 465 5 



66 Life and Character of Charles A. Russell. 



Address of Mr. Jokes, of Arkansas. 

Mr. President: It is proper that the Senate should lay 
aside the ordinary public duties, no matter how important or 
pressing they may be, for the purpose of paying a last tribute 
of respect to the memory of one who has been a faithful, 
capable, and honored public servant, and to place upon the 
record of the proceedings of this body, to last until "time 
shall be no more," our sense of the public loss in the death 
of such a man. 

If it was ever true that the good which men do is "oft' 
interred with their bones." it is not so now. The example 
of a good man lives after him, and long after he ceases to 
take a part amongst his fellowmen the good he did during his 
life will be effective for good and valuable to those who are 
to follow him. 

I believe that men grow better, more benevolent, more un- 
selfish, and more public-spirited with the spread of intelligence 
and the advance of civilization and enlightenment. The dis- 
trust of and hostility toward each other which characterized 
men and nations in past ages, which embarrassed and ham- 
pered all advancement and intercourse, have happily been 
largely broken down, and the result is that we are rapidly 
approaching the time dreamed of by poets, in which it will 
be said that — 

The war-drum throbb'd no longer, and the battle-flags were furl'd 
In the Parliament of man, the Federation of the world. 

Mr. RrssKU. and I differed as widely as possible in our 
ideas of governmental policy. We lived in sections of the 
country remote from each other. We each doubtless had 
something of the prejudices which naturally sprung from our 



Address of Mr. Joins, of Arkansas. 67 

environments, but it is a pleasure to me now to say that in 
all my intercourse with him I always found in him such 
sterling worth in his private life and public work as com- 
manded my great respect and admiration. 

He was tenacious of his opinions, certainly, but this was 
because they were the honest convictions of a deliberate and 
strong judgment, arrived at after careful consideration ; and 
while I did not always agree to his conclusions, I knew he 
was sincere in his beliefs. While he held his convictions as 
strongly as any man. he was always tolerant of the opinions 
of those who differed from him, because he believed firmly in 
the great natural right of all men to think and speak for 
themselves on all questions and to follow the dictates of their 
own judgments and consciences. 

It is well for us individually, as well as a nation, and for 
the future of mankind, that this spirit of toleration of free- 
dom of thought and speech should have so strong a hold as 
it has on the great body of the American people: for this 
mutual regard for the honest convictions which characterizes 
those who differ will always advance the cause of truth ;m<l 
honest investigation in any field of human thought. 

There ran in his veins the blood of men who were eminent 
in their day as leaders of thought and of men, and he, by 
his private life and public career, added luster to his family 
history. Though he was comparatively a young man he had 
accomplished much ; he had, in fact, but just reached the 
prime and vigor of his intellectual strength, and if lie had 
been permitted to fill out his full three score years and ten 
his whole life would doubtless have been full of usefulness. 
That which must come to us all has come to him. His work 
is ended ; his career is closed, and his friends have the satis- 
faction of knowing that he did his full duty and did it well. 



Life and Character of Charles A. Russell. 



ADDRESS OF MR. KEAN, OF NEW JERSEY. 

Mr. President: The story of the well-rounded life of 
Charles A. Russell, which has been so eloquently described 
by my distinguished friend from Connecticut, I will not 
attempt to follow. But I will try to pay in a few words a 
brief tribute to the memory of a man whom I knew in my 
younger days and in these later days. 

He and I were students together at Yale — he an upper class 
man. I an under one. Naturally upper classmen do not 
iate very much with under classmen; but I knew him 
then well, and the acquaintance which we formed at that time 
he .md I kept up to the time of his death. I came to the 
Fiftieth Congress not a new member, because I had been in 
the Forty-eighth Conurc->. and he and I renewed in the 
Fiftieth Congress the friendship we had formed in youth. It 
was always a pleasure to me to meet him. I admired his 
ability, and I admired his character, for. as has been so well 
said by the Senator from Connecticut, he was always faithful. 
He was a man on whom one could rely in every way, and 
when he said that he would do a thing he always did it. The 
best tribute I think that can be paid to his memory is to say 
that he was faithful. 

Representing a district of great and diversified industries, he 
knew what it was to deal with different matters and large 
measures, and how well he did this i> best answered by the 
result of his work. He possessed qualities which singled him 
nut among men to do these things. He had not only extraor- 
dinary ability, but unusual qualifications for the responsibilities 
that were thrown upon him. 



Address of Mr. Kean, of New Jersey. 69 

He was attractive in manner, cheerful in disposition, and 
endowed with great perseverance. He possessed a kindness of 
heart which brought to him many friends and helped him in 
performing the duties which lie did so well. He was for more 
than sixteen years a member of the House of Representatives, 
and Connecticut and the people of the United States will miss 
his -en-ices to-day. He added another to the distinguished 
names which are on the roll of honor which Connecticut has 
furnished to the history of this country. 



and Character of Charles A. Russell. 



Address of Mr. Burrows, of Michigan. 

Mr. PRESIDENT: I can not permit this occasion to pass 
without joining the Senator from Connecticut and others in 
paying a brief tribute of respect to the memory of Charles 
A. Russell, with whom it was my good fortune to be so long 
associated in the House of Representatives and to whom I 
became strongly attached during the years of our service 
together in that body. 

I met Mr. RUSSELL to know him for the first time when he 
took his seat in the National House of Representatives in 1887 
as a member of the Fiftieth Congress from the State of Con- 
necticut. I served with him continuously from that time until 
1895, a period of eight years, when my connection with that 
body terminated, and during those years of daily association I 
necessarily came to know him well, and formed an attachment 
for him for his manly virtues and admirable traits of character 
which will remain with me a pleasing memory to the end. 

He entered the House unheralded, although he had held 
many positions of trust and responsibility in his State, and took 
the places assigned him on committees without criticism or 
complaint, and set to work in the conscientious performance of 
every duty committed to his charge, whether of trifling or great 
concern, with an intelligence and fidelity which insured the 
success winch readily awaited him. He never sought to 
exploit himself or inclined hi- head to catch, if possible, the 
echoes of popular applause. To all these things he was appar- 
ently indifferent, solicitous only tor the approval of his own 
conscience and the commendation of his best judgment. 

Modest, unobtrusive, and retiring, he always seemed devoted 



Address oj Mr. Burrows, of Michigan. 71 

to and absorbed in the work he had in hand, with no other 
thought than to reach such a result as would advance the 
interests of his State and the weal of his country. To my 
mind he was an ideal public servant, sinking self and exalting 
only the great principles of his political faith. He builded his 
public life on the only sure and enduring foundation — personal 
integrity and fidelity to duty. 

Step by step, cautiously, but surely, without brag or bluster, 
he made his way from an humble beginning to a commanding 
position on the Committee on Ways and Means, where his 
business training, clear discernment, and sound judgment con- 
tributed in no small degree to that legislation the fruits of 
which the nation is now gathering in such abundance. But 
higher and more enduring than these, by his daily bearing in 
private and public life he made his way to the respect and con- 
fidence of the House, and by his genial, lovable nature he 
made his way to . the hearts of all his associates, where his 
memory will be forever enshrined. 



~z Life and Character q) Charles A. Ru 



ADDRESS OF MR. ALDRICH, OF RHODE ISLAND. 

Mr. President: Circumstances made me entirely familiar 
with tlie life and public services of Mr. Russell. The district 
which he represented so long and so well adjoins Rhode Island 
on the west. I became familiar with the character of the 
people of the district — an ideal, prosperous Xew England com- 
munity — as the early years of my boyhood were spent in the 
town in which Mr. RUSSELL lived. 1 was naturally interested 
in the young man who sixteen years as^o came to Washington 
as their Representative. M\ acquaintance with him. which 
commenced at that time, led to a friendship which continued 
until his death. 

Karly in his service in the House Mr. RUSSELL was placed 
upon the Committee on Ways and Means, and representing 
as we did similar communities and with a service on similar 
committees, we naturally had conferences on public questions. 
I learned to admire the qualities which distinguished Mi. 
Ri sski.i. among his associates, his fidelity to principle; his 
industry, which never tired: his devotion to the interests .if 
his people and to the country, which were never questioned. 

The two men who were most conspicuous in the Committee 
ul Ways and Means of the House of Representatives in the 
preparation of the great tariff act of 1897 have now passed 
away. To what extent his unremitting labors in this connec- 
tion were responsible for his filial breaking down of health no 
man can tell. He brought t>> the labors of those long, weary 
months of preparation an intelligent knowledge and appreci- 
ation of vast numbers of important questions involved in the 
work of tariff revision. 



Address of Mr. Aldrtch, of Rhode Island. 73 

He had at all times the full confidence of his associates. 

Through these and similar associations I came to know 
Mr. RrssKLL well, and I have never known in public life a 
more thorough and absolute devotion to the highest ideals of 
public sen-ice than were to be found in the late Representative 
from Connecticut. 

Mr. Platt, of Connecticut. Mr. President, as there are 
other eulogies to follow. I ask that the further consideration 
of the resolutions which I introduced may be passed by for 
the present. 

The President pro tempore. The chair hears no objection. 

:-c ^ :|: :•: :■; :■: :[: 

Mr. PlaTT, of Connecticut. Mr. President, I move the 
adoption of the several resolutions which have been considered 
this afternoon. 

The resolutions were unanimously agreed to, and ( at 5 
o'clock and 15 minutes p. m. ) the Senate adjourned. 

o 

H. Doc. 465 6 



